1991 Starting from the core

This semiconductor summit is a true summit.

The participants were not "almost", but they all covered all the companies in the entire Asian semiconductor industry - including the third brother next door, there were more than a dozen companies of varying sizes attending the meeting. It's just that the manufacturing industry at Third Brother's side is too low-end to deal with, and most of the companies that come are companies in the IC design field.

Most of the participating members are from China, Ni Country, Bang Country, and the "Island".

Well... the semiconductor industry on the island has "reluctantly" completed the "transfer" to the country - of course, for the companies on the island, they call it "business backup" on the mainland and use this to show their " The attitude is that our roots are still on the island.

But everyone with a discerning eye knows... As the two major foundries of UMC and Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd., as well as many board and card manufacturers have obtained enviable preferential treatment, policies and conditions in China, thus increasing investment in the mainland, the island The "roots" of the semiconductor and electronics industries are probably just a few bean sprouts - these conditions are so favorable that some companies in the mainland are dissatisfied, so much so that some people always suggest to Su Yuanshan that he should be used as a representative Go and cry with the boss - it’s okay with Hui, but if Hui is too afraid, it’s necessary...

In the face of these demands, Su Yuanshan's reply has always been to laugh - because the policies aimed at the transfer of the island's semiconductor and electronics industries were instigated by him - the cultivation of domestic semiconductor talents cannot keep up with the rapid development and expansion of the industry. At that time, the island had the best talent pool and "teacher" team in the domestic semiconductor industry.

What's more, the shift of the island's semiconductor focus to the mainland will obviously play a catfish role. This is why China currently actively welcomes all semiconductor companies from around the world to develop in the mainland.

——If all semiconductor companies come to the mainland and treat the mainland as a battlefield, it will be a nightmare for leaders at the national level.

Therefore, in the entire venue, not many people needed simultaneous interpretation. At least half of them could understand Su Yuanshan's Mandarin.

It was also this group of people who applauded most positively.

In contrast, representatives from other places seemed more "reserved". Even Toshiba, the country's number one "provocateur", just clapped their hands to show their attitude and then stopped.

…

On the podium, Su Yuanshan took in the expressions of the audience in the first few rows.

Of course, he didn't have any mood swings.

After all... the domestic semiconductor industry has the historical responsibility of "breaking through the blockade", while others do not have this responsibility.

In addition, the semiconductor industry is also a global industry - Su Yuanshan has been blunt about this before.

In this situation where it is obviously "at odds" with the West, any "player" with a little bit of brainpower will remain cautious.

It's business, don't be rude.

"This is the current list of the first batch of members of the EUV Asia Alliance."

The PPT screen changed, and two rows of logos arranged in alphabetical order appeared.

Naturally, this list did not appear in the manual, so everyone looked at the curtain behind Su Yuanshan.

"We hope that the EUV Alliance will be established for the purpose of realizing the development of technology without any other purpose. Therefore, in the future, the committee will also accept applications for new members."

“The approval criteria for new member applications are still based on the promotion of EUV technology.”

During the explanation, everyone at the venue also "counted" these companies.

Then... the back of Mr. Yamama, the head of Nikon's lithography machine division, who was on the left side of the first row of the venue, immediately attracted the attention of countless people.

Even the representatives sitting in the first row glanced at him from different angles and in different ways.

Yes, no Nikon.

As a leading company in the lithography machine market, it does not have a presence in the EUV Asia Alliance, which... is a bit unjustifiable anyway.

Ichiro Yamayama sat upright, looking at the curtain without making any contact with anyone.

“Why no Nikon?”

"Nonsense, why do we need Nikon when we have Acer?"

"How can Acer compare with Nikon now?"

"Then who knows..."

Various whispers from behind came to his ears. Yamayama's expression remained unchanged, but the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

——He doesn’t speak Chinese very well, but he can still understand it.

Frankly speaking, if Yuanxin launches the EUV Asia Alliance two years later, as long as Yuanxin promises Nikon exclusive status, he will definitely try to persuade the board of directors to join the EUV Asia Alliance.

After all, as a major R\u0026D unit, no one can refuse such a good offer if someone pays for it to do R\u0026D. This is why Intel planned to invite Nikon to join the EUV Alliance when it was first established, and everyone at Nikon flocked to it.

But later... I won’t talk about it anymore.

Naturally, Nikon will not be reconciled to being excluded from the EUV Alliance - no individual will be willing to do so. Therefore, Nikon quickly launched the 157nmF2 excimer laser - or in other words, increased investment.

After all, the current limit of 193nmArf has long been calculated beyond calculation - it cannot be extended to the 65nm node. In other words, even if we can barely achieve 65nm through process means, the cost will be astronomical.

Now five years have passed, even if the progress is slow, Nikon's F2 light source has seen the dawn of success.

Yamama Ichiro admitted that relying on the first-mover technical advantage of the previous dual-workpiece stage, mainland China's Acer chip rose up in one fell swoop and won many orders and markets with mid-to-low-end demand. However, with the intervention of various forces, the mainland's Capital Precision also opened up channels in less than a year.

This brought Nikon back to its peak instantly.

However, mainland China’s lithography machines have a natural problem – technological precipitation.

The long-term blockade and backwardness have made it lag behind others in the design and manufacturing of light sources, lenses, and precision parts. Even if Acer enjoys the benefit of having a dual workpiece stage one year in advance, they still cannot develop high-end optical products. poses an essential threat to the current market.

Today, the lithography machine market has presented two obvious options.

One path is led by Nikon and Canon, mainly targeting 157nm, and steadily providing powerful weapons to wafer factories.

The other one is mainly based on ASML in the Netherlands, and plans to go straight to EUV, the theoretical ultimate light source, in one step.

Now it seems that Yuanxin and Hongxin think so too.

A smile appeared on Yamayama's lips again.

He thought of a word that was often mentioned in the news here in mainland China.

——"Overtaking in corners".

However, anyone with a bit of common sense knows that corners are the easiest place to overturn.

The noise around him gradually disappeared, and Yamayama Ichiro also recovered his thoughts. He first glanced at his watch, and then looked up at Su Yuanshan.

Don’t you have anything to say now?

Sure enough, Su Yuanshan was already packing up his speech and making his conclusion at the same time.

"...Finally, thank you all again."

At this time, a shout suddenly came from the audience: "Mr. Shan, where's the good news?"

"Oh yes, I almost forgot."

Su Yuanshan stood still again and looked towards the first row.

Yamayama Ichiro frowned slightly - he always felt that Su Yuanshan was looking at him.

"Perhaps everyone has discovered that Mr. Zheng Zhenchuan from Macron has not attended the meeting since yesterday - he asked me to report to everyone this morning."

On the stage, Su Yuanshan paused and slowly laughed.

"Acer's 193nm-based immersion lithography machine is undergoing acceptance by relevant departments - with a genius design idea, they have shortened the equivalent wavelength of 193nm to 134nm."

There was silence in the venue.

Yamayama felt his butt sitting on the volcano, which made him extremely hot and forced him to stand up.

//Brothers, have you been banned? I haven't seen a comment about this chapter for two days. I thought the book was banned...